The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Shocked medic witnessed Russian tank target hospital
A north-east nurse volunteering in Ukraine has told of his shock after seeing a Russian tank blow up as it fired at a hospital.
David Anderson was left reeling at the sight of the tank’s burnt-out wreckage.
Its gun was still pointing at the hospital in Trostianets, eastern Ukraine.
He then saw the devastation inside the hospital, which is unusable.
The attack is thought to be one of more than 130 on healthcare facilities since the start of Russia’s invasion. David, a volunteer and humanitarian health adviser with frontline aid charity UK-Med who comes from Montrose, said: “I find it unbelievable and depressing that a hospital would be deliberately attacked.
“The tank is being guarded as evidence of a war crime and I could not believe what I was seeing.
“I was shown round the wards and there was just devastation everywhere where the tank’s shells hit.”
David has been in Ukraine since March 14 and is helping deliver the UK’s aid in the country.
His previous humanitarian missions include stints in Myanmar (Burma) and Beirut after the 2020 explosion.
He said: “I’ve been in a couple of war zones before – but not on this scale.
“I don’t think you ever get used to going into conflict zones. I’m reasonably comfortable with seeing limb injuries having worked in South Sudan and other places, but oh my God, the scale of this.
“We walked into one hospital, and they said there were 200 people, but it felt like more.
“There were people with traumatic amputations, flesh burns, blast injuries, just horrific injuries. It’s the volume that is genuinely astounding.
“People break down in tears and you are almost in tears with them. I think it’s probably the strongest feelings I’ve had going anywhere.
“Very possibly this depth of feeling is because I’ve never been involved in a crisis like this that is so close to home.
“You are used to humanitarian deployments to conflict zones in Africa, but I never, ever expected to be doing this work in Europe. This situation is unfathomable.”
David said he is aware of the risks and is driven
by a determination to help.
“Have I personally felt scared? I’d be a fool to say I haven’t, but I wouldn’t say that I’ve been asked to go anywhere or do anything I don’t want to do,” he said.
“My friends and family back home are obviously worried, and I can understand why.
“People are clearly concerned about my being here, but they all understand that this is what I want to do and the reasons why it is important we help.”
The UK’s Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Office has given UK-Med cash and supplies to help Ukraine’s medics deal with mass casualties.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “The Kremlin continues to lie about deliberate attacks on Ukraine’s hospitals and the indiscriminate targeting of civilians.
“Now our vital humanitarian support will help save lives and deliver medical expertise to the frontline.”